Why Are Taiwan's Night Markets a Must-Visit for Food Lovers?
Taiwan is home to over 100 night markets. These overnight shopping districts offer some of the tastiest culinary delights in the country. If you’re a fan of Asian cuisine, use our in-depth guide to navigate the Taiwan night market scene.
What is Taiwan's Night Market Famous For?
Night markets in Taiwan are street shopping areas that begin operations after sunset and close up before sunrise. They occupy marketplaces, sidewalks, or streets with dozens of shops, stands, and stalls.
Taiwanese night markets are famous for selling a wide variety of affordable food. However, their most popular food category is called xiaochi, or “small eats.” Xiaochi is a small-portion snack or fast food generally eaten on folding tables in the street or while walking. Staple xiaochi foods in night markets include stinky tofu, rice flour cakes, and oyster omelets.
Taiwan's night markets also feature a vibrant atmosphere that some might find disorienting. Large crowds, shouting hawkers, and loud music combine to create an incredibly noisy environment. Despite the noise, vendors and merchants at these night markets remain organized and follow strict regulatory laws set by the Taiwanese government.
Besides food, items sold at these markets include clothing, fashion accessories, beverages, and consumer goods.
The Night Market Experience: A Cultural Journey
When it comes to affordable street food, there’s no better place to be than an Asian night market in Taiwan. After World War II, these markets, which emerged from Chinese culture, became the go-to spots for traditional xiaochi, cheap dining, and consumer goods.
The vendors are mostly small-scale entrepreneurs or family-owned businesses. They acquire licenses, pay taxes, and join a merchant committee. Operations have evolved over the decades thanks to their willingness to identify changing consumer needs in the community. Today, a lot of these vendors have taken steps to improve environmental sustainability, diversify their offerings to include foreign cuisine, and provide better entertainment.
Some night markets have become foreign hot spots because of their reputation for offering specific food or products. For example, Shilin Night Market, one of Taiwan’s largest night markets, is famous for selling a variety of authentic Taiwanese snacks. Although it's located in Taipei, people from all over the world visit the night market to enjoy Taiwanese-style kebab, grilled sausages, dumplings, fresh squid, spring onion pancakes, and more.
Popular Cities for Night Markets in Taiwan
Some Taiwanese cities are known for their night markets. In most cases, certain types of foods are unique offerings in the area, and people travel to the location for a taste of their speciality. Popular night market cities include the following:
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Tainan: Located in southern Taiwan, Tainan is considered the food capital of the entire country. It’s little wonder that many of the most famous night markets are situated there. The city is famous for its coffin bread and ta-a noodles. Popular sunset markets in Tainan include Tainan Flower Night Market (or Garden Night Market) and Ta-Tung Night Market. The markets in Tainan don’t run every day of the week. Vendors often move from one to another depending on the day.
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Taichung: Taichung City is an industrial area on the west coast of central Taiwan. It’s famous for having night markets built in massive complexes. Notable examples are Tunghai Night Market and Feng Chia (or Fengjia) Night Market. Yizhong Street Night Market, also located in Taichung, is a relatively smaller space.
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Kaohsiung: This is another city in the southern region of Taiwan. It has its fair share of popular night market options, most notably Liuhe Night Market and Ruifeng Night Market. Kaohsiung stalls are known to offer delicious seafood.
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Taipei: Taiwan’s capital city has some of the biggest and most popular night markets in the city. Many of these places double as tourist destinations. They include Shilin Night Market, Raohe Street Night Market, Linjiang Street Night Market, and Ningxia Night Market.
Is Ningxia Night Market Worth Going?
If you’re a tourist in Taiwan looking for an authentic night market, Ningxia Night Market is worth going. The markets at Shilin and Raohe Street may be considerably more popular, but Ningxia is just as fascinating. You’ll get to enjoy excellent traditional dishes, premium craft beer, unrivalled oyster omelets, and Michelin-rated food stalls.
What is the Most Famous Night Market in Tainan Called?
Tainan City is home to numerous night markets, but its most famous one is the Garden Night Market. Also known as Tainan Flower Night Market, it can be found in the city’s North District. It’s not only the most popular overnight shopping district in Tainan but also one of the best in the entire country.
There are about 400 stalls in the market. These stalls are distributed into four zones: food, consumer goods, leisure, and fashion. Local food specialties in the area include Thai ice tea, shawarma, and pancakes. The entire market is only open on Sunday, Thursday, and Saturday. This is in sharp contrast to the nearby Ta-Tung Night Market, which is open on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.
What Are the Most Popular Foods at Taiwan Night Markets?
Every famous night market in Taiwan has a specialty dish. However, certain iconic dishes are available in nearly all of them due to their popularity. The following are some of these popular foods:
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Stinky tofu: This classic Taiwanese night market food lives up to its name. It’s extremely stinky but also quite delicious. The dish is made from fermented tofu; hence, it has a strong odor, similar to that of blue cheese. In night markets, stinky tofu is often deep-fried. However, it can also be steamed or stewed. The resulting dish has a crunchy exterior and soft insides. Vendors top their stinky tofu with cabbage, chili sauce, and soy sauce.
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Taiwanese fried chicken: Night market vendors sell bite-sized bits of chicken in a bag. You’ll be provided with chopsticks so you can enjoy the meal on-the-go. Most of them include garlic and basil leaves to create a spicy flavor.
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Beef noodle soup: Delicious and tender beef with fresh noodles is served in a bowl of savory, spicy broth. The dish is often topped with a variety of vegetables, such as bok choy, pickled mustard greens, and green onions.
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Sausage with sticky rice: While navigating one of these markets, you might come across a snack that resembles a hot dog in a bread bun. The bun is actually made from sticky rice. It’s stuffed with Taiwanese sausage, garlic, pickles, wasabi, peppers, or soy sauce.
Sweet and Savory Delights: Taiwanese Street Food You Can't Miss
These markets also offer street food, especially snacks, desserts, and drinks that you can enjoy while strolling past the stalls. The following are some popular options among kids and adults of all ages:
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Oyster omelet: This is a classic xiaochi made from oysters, flour, eggs, and potato starch. The eggs and other ingredients are fried and finally seasoned with a sea of sauce. Different stalls have their own unique recipes, so feel free to try as many as you want.
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Bubble tea: Also called pearl milk tea, bubble tea in Taiwan is a popular street beverage made with sweetened milk and tapioca balls (boba). After a sale, vendors serve it with a straw wide enough to allow the balls to get into your mouth when you suck the tea. We’ll provide more info about this treat later in this post.
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Shaved ice: The perfect summer dessert, shaved ice is made of fruit-flavored ice shavings and condensed milk. It may be topped with other ingredients, such as red bean, jelly, or peanut. Common fruits used in shaved ice recipes are mango, peach, and passion fruit.
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Fried sweet potato balls: These snacks are made by frying round bits of sweet potatoes, squeezing them, and sticking the balls on bamboo sticks.
Spotlight on Taiwanese Flavors at Bokksu Market
Thanks to Bokksu Market, you can get access to Taiwanese-style snacks and sweets from the comfort of your home. We offer potato chips, candy, and seaweed snacks made with some of the flavors that dominate night markets in Taiwan.
You can enjoy the taste of oyster omelet, thanks to Hwa Yuan Potato Chips: Taiwan Spicy Oyster Omelette, one of the best-selling snacks in our store. If you prefer sweet treats, we recommend Morinaga Candy Drops: Taiwan Specialty Fruits. It features five fruit flavors: mango, peach, passion fruit, guava, and lychee.
Bokksu is not responsible for the accuracy of the products’ nutritional or allergen information. Warning: California’s Proposition 65 may be in effect. For more information,visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov. Some Bokksu Market products are produced overseas and may have a Production Date printed on the packaging, rather than a Best Buy Date as is standard in North America. If your product appears expired, do not be alarmed! This is most likely the Production Date. All items have been double checked to ensure they are not expired and safe to eat.
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Lay’s Potato Chips: Taiwan Hot Chili and Other Flavored Chips
Bokksu Market also offers Lay’s flavors that recreate the experience of eating Taiwanese night market snacks. Many of them were created specifically for the Taiwanese market, even though they contain ingredients from across Asia, including Japanese regions. We recommend Lay’s Tokyo Yakitori Grilled Chicken for a taste of fried chicken.
Bubble Tea Craze: How Taiwan Popularized Boba Worldwide
Bubble or boba tea was invented in Taiwan in 1986 when Tu Tsong-he, the owner of a local teahouse, made tea using white tapioca balls. Since then, bubble tea has grown into a global phenomenon. The beverage is one of the most requested products on Bokksu Market.
You can’t go wrong with a J-Basket Boba Bubble Tea Kit. These are sold in variants, including black tea, matcha tea, and taro tea. Other boba options on our website are Evergreen Bubble Milk Tea with Tapioca (Matcha) and O's Gummy Boba Latte (Taro, Brown Sugar, and Matcha)
Bokksu is not responsible for the accuracy of the products’ nutritional or allergen information. Warning: California’s Proposition 65 may be in effect. For more information,visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov. Some Bokksu Market products are produced overseas and may have a Production Date printed on the packaging, rather than a Best Buy Date as is standard in North America. If your product appears expired, do not be alarmed! This is most likely the Production Date. All items have been double checked to ensure they are not expired and safe to eat.
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What Makes Taiwan Night Market Food So Unique?
Taiwanese street food is special because each night market goes above and beyond to make unique flavors and textures for their specialty dishes. This way, one market stands out from the other.
Instant Food Options with Taiwanese Influence
Bokksu Market is your one-stop shop for authentic instant meals from Asia. Some of these products draw inspiration from Taiwanese flavors. Our recommendations include JML Spicy Beef Noodle and Nagatanien Matsutake Osuimono Mushroom Clear Soup.
Bokksu is not responsible for the accuracy of the products’ nutritional or allergen information. Warning: California’s Proposition 65 may be in effect. For more information,visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov. Some Bokksu Market products are produced overseas and may have a Production Date printed on the packaging, rather than a Best Buy Date as is standard in North America. If your product appears expired, do not be alarmed! This is most likely the Production Date. All items have been double checked to ensure they are not expired and safe to eat.
Disclaimer
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The Future of Taiwan Night Markets
Taiwan’s night markets have evolved so much that many of them are nothing short of tourist destinations. If you’re in the country, exploring places like Shilin and Ningxia is definitely worth your time and money. Until then, check out Bokksu Market's selection of Taiwanese-inspired snacks and drinks.
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